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6- The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday September 3, 2008 www.oakvillebeaver.com OPINION & LETTERS The Oakville Beaver 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5567 Classified Advertising: 845-3824, ext. 224 Circulation: 845-9742 Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: NEIL OLIVER Vice ­ President and Group Publisher of Metroland West The Oakville Beaver is a division of IAN OLIVER President Media Group Ltd. DAVID HARVEY General Manager JILL DAVIS Editor in Chief ROD JERRED Managing Editor DANIEL BAIRD Advertising Director RIZIERO VERTOLLI Photography Director SANDY PARE Business Manager MARK DILLS Director of Production MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager CHARLENE HALL Director of Distribution ALEXANDRIA ANCHOR Circ. Manager Why now? As the hours tick by, it appears more and more likely Canadians will head to the polls in October to cast their ballots in a federal election. Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who appears to be doing his best Mats Sundin (will he or won't he?) impression, last week said, "If I don't think (Parliament) can be productive, then obviously it's my responsibility to make sure the people of Canada can elect a Parliament that can proceed." Why Harper feels Parliament has suddenly become dysfunctional remains unclear. For the past several months, MPs have enjoyed their summer vacation. Prior to that, the governing Tories managed to push through much of their agenda, as the Liberals simply stomped their feet, then either backed the legislation or chose not to vote on it at all. There's nothing like an Opposition party to keep politicians on their toes, but the Liberals have been nothing like an Opposition party. True, the Tories have passed the usual best-before expiry date of 18 months for a typical minority government, but if the voters are clamoring for yet another day at the polls, Harper must be the only one hearing their cries. What makes this likely election call even more confounding is that Harper admits Canadians can expect more of the same -- a minority government. "I think that's the reality of the current political climate," he said last week. Public opinion polls indicate he is right with the Liberals and Tories in a virtual tie with public support in the 32 per cent range, while the NDP and Green Party bring up the rear with support fluctuating in the mid-teens. So why, if little is likely to change and a fixed election date is already in place for October 2009, do we need an election this fall? Perhaps the PM knows something we don't. Then again, perhaps not. The Oakville Beaver welcomes letters from its readers. Letters will be edited for clarity, length, legal considerations and grammar. In order to be published all letters must contain the name, address and phone number of the author. Letters should be addressed to The Editor, Oakville Beaver, 467 Speers Rd., Oakville, ON, L6K 3S4, or via e-mail to editor@oakvillebeaver.com. The Beaver reserves the right to refuse to publish a letter. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Halton Women's Place would like to thank everyone who participated in our 16th Annual Charity Golf Tournament, held recently at Crosswinds Golf and Country Club. Your participation ensured this event was our most successful event in its history. The event featured special guests Hal Johnson and Joanne McLeod from Body Break, Dan Dunleavy from The Fan 590FM and long drive professionals Cam Natale and Bob Dailey. This success could not have been achieved without Halton Women's Place grateful for ongoing support from the community the support and participation of all our sponsors, golfers and prize donors. These individuals and corporations that supported us this year allowed us to have a record-breaking event. Special thanks to our event sponsors Gordon Food Service, Groupex Canada, Crosswinds Golf and Country Club, Quality Tube, Mandarin Restaurants, CIBC and our live auction sponsor Norwalk the Furniture Idea. The proceeds raised at the tournament allow us to continue to provide our shelter and transitional support services throughout the year. Our shelters run annually at 112 per cent capacity and 68 per cent of our residents are children. Last year, we assisted more than 800 women and 1,000 children. Participation in this tournament reflects the dedication to building healthy communities and allows us to continue to offer women and children hope, and a safe place to access emergency shelter. Halton Women's Place greatly appreciates your support and participation. BY STEVE NEASE snease@haltonsearch.com On behalf of the women and children who access our services, thank you for giving them the chance for a safer tomorrow. Together we can make a difference. CHRISTINA MACKAY SPECIAL EVENT COORDINATOR, HALTON WOMEN'S PLACE This week's poll The Oakville Beaver has a polling feature on its website oakvillebeaver.com. A new poll will be posted every Wednesday with the results of the poll published in the following Wednesday edition of The Oakville Beaver. This week's question is: If the federal election were held today, which party would you vote for? · Conservative · Green · Liberal · NDP To vote, visit oakvillebeaver.com Last week's poll: Now that you've seen what Beijing can do presenting the Olympics, do you think Toronto could have done as well? · Yes 29.17% · No 70.83% Total votes: 24 The Oakville Beaver is a member of the Ontario Press Council. The council is located at 80 Gould St., Suite 206, Toronto, Ont., M5B 2M7. Phone 416-340-1981.Advertising is accepted on the condition that, in the event of a typographical error, that portion of advertising space occupied by the erroneous item, together with a reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged for, but the balance of the advertisement will be paid for at the applicable rate.The publisher reserves the right to categorize advertisements or decline. Pud